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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “service list”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “service list”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

List MixCloud shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #7 ↓3 5 too low 3 Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #9 ↑1 5 too low 5 Stylish Price List – Price Table Builder & QR Code Restaurant Menu 3K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 Icon List Block – Add Icon-Based Lists with Custom Styles 4K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #6 ↑1 6 too high 13 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #15 ↑7 2 too low 14 Authors List 5K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA 70K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #20 ↓6 4 too low 17 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Ditty – Responsive News Tickers, Sliders, and Lists 30K+ · 4.6★ (106) wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22 Appointment Booking Plugin for WooCommerce | Online Booking Calendar & Service Manager 200+ · 4.4★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 List MixCloud 300+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 Integration for listmonk mailing list and newsletter service 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.